Wednesday Words

Mandela (2008)

"To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects & enhances the lives of others."

Nelson Mandela

Sandy K

[above image via wikipedia]

Monday Magic

Inside Out (AUS) May/Jun 2010

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

We interrupt our regular programming…

Check this out from Jenny of the awesomely hilarious blog My Favorite and My Best.

Regardless of whether you love Nate or not, this is so funny & creative.



Be warned, may offend some viewers due to language & images.

Sandy K

Friday Fashion

Vogue (India) Jun 2010
Dress & Waistband by Krizia
Ankle Boots by Giuseppe Zanotti
'Treasure Chest Collar' Necklace by Valliyan by Nitya Arora
Model - Jacqueline Fernandez
Photographer - Prasad Naik

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Wednesday Words

George Eliot aged 30 by the Swiss artist Alexandre Louis François d'Albert Durade (1804–86)

It's never too late to be what you might have been

George Eliot (1819-1880)

pen name of Mary Anne Evans, writer of The Mill on the Floss, Middlemarch & Daniel Deronda amongst other works.

Sandy K

[above image from Wikipedia]

The Block - 2010

The Block is back!

After a 6 year hiatus, the highest rating series in Australian television history is back & it promises to be even more drama filled & exciting as ever.

The first series aired in 2003 & I was OS at the time so I only caught the tail end of it but was captivated. Series one winners, Adam & Fiona won $251,000. I watched the entire 2004 series & was delighted with the outcome when young couple Andrew & Jamie (who have since married & have a son & twin daughters) won $150,000. Andrew went on to complete his medical studies & besides being a doctor is also a regular on various Australian television programmes.

Scott Cam

This new incarnation sees lovable Aussie larrikin builder & TV personality Scott Cam take over from Jamie Durie (Oprah's "discovery" from Down Under - note the sarcasm please) as the new host & mentor of The Block & its' contestants.

Once again, The Block sees four teams pitted against one another in a quest to redesign, redecorate & renovate four identical three bedroom apartments in Vaucluse, one of the most exclusive suburbs in Sydney. Although the apartment block is located in Vaucluse, it's an absolute dump - the worst block on the best street. Each apartment is over 100 square metres - very large for the renovations that need to be undertaken in the allotted time. Each team has an initial $80,000 budget ($30,000 in cash from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, $20,000 from Freedom Furniture, $15,000 from Freedom Kitchens & $15,000 in vouchers from Reece) out of which they must pay for all items required for the renovation including, furniture, appliances, tradies, labour, advice etc.

The four teams are:

Mark & Duncan

• Best Mates: Mark (52) & Duncan (44) - referred to as "The Two Fat Tradies" - both are carpenters & have been best friends for 20 years.

Neisha & John

• High School Sweethearts: Neisha (33) & John (33) - married for 14 years, Neisha is a Director of a child-care centre & John manages road works crews.

Jake & Erin

• Engaged Couple: Erin (26) & Jake (25) - Sport freaks -  Erin is a personal trainer & accredited dietitian & Jake is an Australian representative in kayaking hoping to compete at the 2012 Olympics & is also in the process of completing his doctorate in Sports Science. They are also both Surf Life Savers. The Block is very close to their wedding date so expect some wedding dramas & study dramas to play along with the renovation ones.

Brenton & Cheryl (aka Chez)

• Dating Couple: Cheryl (aka Chez!) (28) & Brenton (27) - Chez is a real estate agent who has also done a 2 year interior design course & Brenton is working in construction. Chez wants to get married but Brenton is yet to propose.

Each couple must renovate an entire room in one week & then be judged by "experts" in the design & real estate industries. The winner for that particular week receives extra cash or vouchers for their renovation budget.

Doesn't sound too hard? Yeah, right. All renovations must occur whilst the couples continue with their "regular" jobs. Therefore, all renovations have to occur before work, after work & on the weekends. Also all council restrictions apply - this means power tools can only be used between 7.00am - 5.30pm during the week & 8.00am - 1.00pm on the weekends.

The judges are:

John Mc Grath & Neale Whittaker

• John McGrath -  CEO of McGrath Estate Agents which is one of Australia's top residential real estate groups having sold over $5 billion worth of residential property in Sydney in the last financial year.
• Neale Whittaker - Editor-in-Chief of Belle Magazine (one of Australia's high end design magazines)

The online (assuming forum discussions or blogging) experts are:

Deborah Bibby

• Deborah Bibby - Editor of Real Living Magazine (see Deb's blog for the magazine here)

Jason Sullivan
had to put in the eye candy model shot

• Jason Sullivan - "male model" (I wonder when the press will stop refering to him as such, but seeing as the official "The Block" promos do, so will I) turned interior designer & winner of the interior design/reno reality television ratings bomb homemade.

The winner will be decided when the apartments are auctioned off. Each couple gets to keep any profit made from the sale of the apartment & the couple with the greatest profit will also win the grand prize of $100,000.

So excited!

The Block premieres tonight on Channel 9 at 7.30pm. I can't wait to see what you Aussie viewers think.

Sandy K

[all above images via ninemsn except the last image via Freedom Furniture]

Monday Magic

Vogue Living Jan/Feb 2007

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Rue - Premiere Issue

cover

After weeks of waiting, Rue has finally arrived.This will have been all over the blogosphere by now, but I'll give you my thoughts anyhow.

I'm not a great fan of the cover, but look past this & oh my gosh, here is a magazine chock a block full of great spaces & wonderful articles. Editor in Chief & Co-Founder of Rue, Crystal Gentilello's Editor's letter emphasises the collaborative nature of the team behind the magazine. It is this spirit of community that is displayed throughout this marvellous production. The Rue team have set the bar high. Congratulations all round to the fantastic team that is Rue.

Here's a peek at some, there are many more, of my favourite bits from the issue:

Blogger side-by-side featuring Ronda Carman of All the Best and Holly Becker of decor8 

designed by Heather Clawson of Habitually Chic blog fame

Screen by Christiana Coop of Eden Coop interior design firm

two pics that I thought were interesting

Ritz-Carlton Residences in LA designed by Woodson + Rummerfield's House of Design

A vignette from the home Victoria Smith of sfgirlbybay blog fame

Victoria's bedside

Crystal Gentilello's bedroom

A gorgeous bathroom from the home of Julia Edelmann of Buckingham Interiors + Design

Two spaces from the Gillam home

Kitchen from the Oliver home

Hallway from the Oliver home

The magazine also has articles featuring or written by: interior designer Grant K. Gibson, writer & stylist Will Taylor of the blog Bright Bazaar, Megan Gonzalez of MaeMae Paperie, legendary designer Vicente Wolf who by the way has a fantastic blog, Emily Henderson winner of HGTV's design star & author of The Brass Petal blog, Toni Hacker & Ben Harnett of Hayden-Harnett accessories & apparel label & also designer Tobi Fairley. Phew, told you it was chockers!

Congratulations to Crystal Gentilello (Plush Palate), Anne Sage (The City Sage) - Co-founder & Executive Director, Caitlin Fleming (Sacramento Street) - Marketing Director & all the team at Rue for an absolutely brilliant first issue. Time to party like the Jen & Jamie, the force behind the vintage glam label ban.do above who also feature in this superb publication.

Sandy K

[all images via Rue]

Friday Fashion

Vogue (India) Oct 2009
Dress by Oscar de la Renta
Cuffs by Vera Wang
Ring by Cartier
Model - Raquel Zimmermann
Photographer - David Sims

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Wednesday Words

Collage from V&A Pattern series William Morris

"If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

William Morris

English writer & artist, 1834-1896

Sandy K

[above image collaged by Sandy K]

Monday Magic

Vogue Living (AUS) May/Jun 2004

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Friday Fashion

Harper's Bazaar (UK) Jan 2009

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Wednesday Words

BBC 1995 production of Persuasion

"All the privilege I claim for my own sex (it is not a very enviable one; you need not covet it), is that of loving longest, when existence or when hope is gone."

Anne Elliot in conversation with Captain Harville

(Persuasion by Jane Austen)

"I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years & a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you."

Captain Frederick Wentworth in a letter to Anne Elliot

(Persuasion by Jane Austen)

One of the best lines ever in a novel or film, "You pierce my soul."

If you are a Jane Austen fan, BBC production fan, Period Drama fan or in fact just a good film fan, do yourself a favour & get a copy of the BBC's 1995 production of Persuasion starring Amanda Root as Anne Elliot & Ciaran Hinds as Captain Frederick Wentworth. In my opinion it is the best adaptation of a Jane Austen work by far as it does not "pretty" up the actors nor the costumes. It is a grounded & more realistic portrayal of the people and times of Jane Austen. One of my all time favourite films.

"You pierce my soul." I swoon!

Sandy K
[above image via Amazon]

House & Garden (AUS) October 2010 Issue

House & Garden (AUS) October 2010

This month's issue is on news stands now. It's a great issue, chock full of beautiful pics. The two pics below are from the "An Invitation to Dine" story styled by Marie Nichols who also has a wonderful blog called Whole Lotta Lovely. The story is full of gorgeous ideas but I've only given you a sneak peek at two pictures.

The above pic I had to include as the lovely "With Love" tag is from Bespoke Press who are based in Brisbane & have the most divine items for sale. They too have their own blog entitled Bespoke Press.

The below pic is from a story "Suite Success". It features eight different hotels & resorts & describes how to achieve the same look in your own home. The places featured include: The Greenwich Hotel in New York, The Four Seasons in Seychelles (see my related article on Seychelles artist Michael Adams here) , Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in Lithgow, NSW, Australia & Hotel Daniel in Paris.

Hotel Daniel, Paris, France

Beautiful gelati colours in the feature above have got me ready to celebrate the long awaited Spring weather we are having (thought I'd rub it in for those of you located in the Northern Hemisphere).

Another fabulous designer & fellow blogger rates a mention in the pic above. Anna Spiro of Black & Spiro Interior Design is now stocking the sumptuous furniture range from Stuart Membrey. Anna's blog is world renowned & is aptly called Absolutely Beautiful Things.

The below pics are of a Sydney terrace house that has undergone an interesting modernisation. I particularly love the water feature in the last pic of this home.

The pic below is only one from a Melbourne house featured. It's a cottage with a modern extension. I liked the height of the vaulted ceiling which would be a distinct change from the original low ceilings of the cottage.

The last story I have featured is a garden makeover designed by Richard Kelly of the wonderful Urban Exotic landscape design studio. Urban Exotic is a Newcastle (go the Novocastrians, and no I'm not showing any home town bias at all) based firm who take pride in "creating authentic, poetic spaces that inspire the human spirit".

Just as an aside, here are some pics of a project that Richard undertook at my parents' house about 8 years ago.

Sandy K

[all above images impatiently scanned by me except the last four which are courtesy of Urban Exotic]